One of my favorite things to eat when we were in London a few years back other than Fish and Chips, Apple Pie and Scones was Shepherd’s Pie. Traditionally, it’s made with lamb or mutton. Here is USA, we are more of a beef eating culture than lamb. So, no worries, Marry still has her little lamb. ha ha ha
Speaking of London, my husband won NFL tickets to see a football game (as the rest of the world call it “American football”) in London so we got spent 6 days there. Seriously, who wins this kind of thing? I still can’t believe he did! We enjoyed the trip very much. Loved the culture, history, architecture and the food. Strangely, British cuisine is not as popular as French or Italian, but we enjoyed everything we had there, especially Shepherd’s Pie.
I did make my version of Shepherd’s Pie from leftover Pot Roast and it was easy and super yummy. Here’s the link to the recipe, Pot Roast Shepherd’s Pie. Today, I’m going to make Shepherd’s Pie from scratch. I’m drooling just thinking about it. It’s a total comfort food in my book. I got this recipe from Alton Brown, Food Network. It got 5 stars, so how bad could that be? His is for 8 servings, so I just cut everything in half for 4 servings.
Let’s cook some food!
Start with making potatoes. Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Place in a medium pot and fill with cold water until they are covered. Set over high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, uncover, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until tender and easily crushed with tongs, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
Place the half-and-half and butter into a microwave-safe container and heat in the microwave until warmed through, about 35 seconds.
Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return to the saucepan.
Mash the potatoes and then add the half and half, butter, salt and pepper and continue to mash until smooth.
Stir in the yolk until well combined.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the filling. Place the oil into a pan and set over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and carrots and saute just until they begin to take on color, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir to combine.
Add the meat, salt and pepper and cook until browned and cooked through, approximately 3 minutes.
Sprinkle the meat with the flour and toss to coat, continuing to cook for another minute.
Add the tomato paste, Worcestershire, rosemary, thyme, and stir to combine.
Add chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer slowly 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly.
Add the corn and peas to the meat mixture.
Top with the mashed potatoes, smooth with a rubber spatula or a knife.
Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25 minutes or just until the potatoes begin to brown. I baked mine in an ovenproof pan. If you don’t have one, you can bake it in a baking dish.
Let it sit at least 15 minutes before serving.
I hope you give this Shepherd’s Pie a try, the recipe card is below.
Last but not least, here’s a picture from London. Once of my favorite historical places, the Tower of London.
- Potatoes:
- 2 large russet potatoes
- 4 tablespoons half-and-half
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (half stick)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 egg yolk
- Meat Filling:
- 1 tablespoon Canola oil (or vegetable oil)
- ½ cup chopped yellow onion
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced small
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¾ pound ground beef or lamb
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary
- ½ teaspoon fresh thyme
- ¼ cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
- ¼ cup fresh or frozen peas
- Peel the potatoes and cut into ½-inch dice. Place in a medium pot and fill with cold water until they are covered. Set over high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, uncover, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until tender and easily crushed with tongs, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
- Place the half-and-half and butter into a microwave-safe container and heat in the microwave until warmed through, about 35 seconds.
- Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return to the saucepan. Mash the potatoes and then add the half and half, butter, salt and pepper and continue to mash until smooth. Stir in the yolk until well combined.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the filling. Place the oil into a pan and set over medium high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the onion and carrots and saute just until they begin to take on color, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir to combine.
- Add the meat, salt and pepper and cook until browned and cooked through, approximately 3 minutes. Sprinkle the meat with the flour and toss to coat, continuing to cook for another minute. Add the tomato paste, Worcestershire, rosemary, thyme, and stir to combine. Add chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer slowly 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly.
- Add the corn and peas to the meat mixture. Top with the mashed potatoes, smooth with a rubber spatula or a knife.
- Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25 minutes or just until the potatoes begin to brown. Let it sit at least 15 minutes before serving.
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